Syndivia SAS

GSK is moving onto turf targeted by Pfizer, Novartis and Sanofi.\n GSK has paid $50 million upfront to partner with LTZ Therapeutics on myeloid cell engagers, expanding its cancer pipeline to cover a modality that has attracted Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer and Sanofi. Like T-cell engagers, a more established therapeutic modality, myeloid cell engagers are bispecifics that simultaneously target immune and disease-driving cells. As the names suggest, the key difference is the type of immune cell that is targeted. LTZ specializes in drugs that target myeloid cells, a class of cells that shape the tumor microenvironment by suppressing or stimulating the immune system.GSK has partnered with LTZ to develop up to four potential first-in-class myeloid cell engagers for use in hematologic cancers and solid tumors. In addition to the $50 million upfront fee, the Big Pharma has committed to preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of undisclosed value.LTZ recently began a clinical trial of a myeloid cell engager that targets CD79B to drive phagocytosis, the process through which the immune system eats unwanted cells. But the GSK deal covers global rights to up to four preclinical programs against undisclosed targets.  The deal comes weeks after GSK agreed to pay Syndivia up to 268 million pounds sterling ($352 million) for global rights to a preclinical prostate cancer antibody-drug conjugate. The Syndivia and LTZ assets slot into the first part of an oncology pipeline that GSK has built out in recent years through deals such as its 2023 pacts with Hansoh, which recently delivered clinical data.GSK’s identification of myeloid cell engagers as the next piece of the pipeline puzzle moves it onto turf targeted by Pfizer, Novartis and Sanofi. Pfizer paid $25 million to partner with Dren Bio on anticancer myeloid cell engagers in 2022. Two years later, Novartis paid Dren $150 million upfront to forge its own oncology pact. Sanofi joined Dren’s list of partners this year, paying $600 million upfront for DR-0201.The Sanofi deal shows the versatility of the modality. While the anti-CD20 bispecific antibody DR-0201 entered the clinic as a treatment for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Dren later started a phase 1 trial in autoimmune diseases such as lupus. CAR-T cell studies have suggested B-cell depletion can reset the immune system to stop lupus symptoms. DR-0201 could achieve the same outcome via phagocytosis.Lilly followed Sanofi into the autoimmune myeloid cell engager space in July by partnering with LTZ. The Lilly deal was the first partnership disclosed by LTZ, which emerged in 2022 with a leadership team heavy on ex-Genentech researchers. LTZ revealed additional financing rounds in 2023 and 2024. 

GSK will pay LTZ Therapeutics $50 million upfront for access to its myeloid cell engager (MCE) technology. The deal follows similar moves by Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Novartis and Pfizer aimed at developing entrants in this class of cancer drugs. GSK and LTZ, which operates from Redwood City, CA and Shenzhen, China, will collaborate on the development of up to four MCE programs for both blood cancers and solid tumors, according to a Wednesday release . GSK will have an exclusive option to license worldwide development and commercial rights for the investigational therapies, which have yet to reach the clinic and whose targets are not disclosed. Like the better known T cell engagers, MCEs are bispecifics designed to direct the patient’s immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells. GSK said that myeloid cells make up a “significant majority” of tissue-resident immune cells and therefore could be particularly good at infiltrating tumors. The partners pointed out that other approaches can have side effects that cause patients to need hospital care. They hope that MCEs could be safer and easier for patients to access. Several other big pharmas have already shown interest in MCEs. Lilly formed an agreement with LTZ on its myeloid engager platform in July. And Sanofi , Novartis and Pfizer have all signed pacts with Dren Bio to develop cancer drugs based on similar technology. The Sanofi deal was by far the richest, at $600 million in upfront cash. LTZ emerged in 2022 with a $17 million funding round. The biotech’s name stands for “lift to zenith.” At the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference in London on Wednesday, GSK’s chief scientific officer Tony Wood spoke about how the pharma company balances its efforts between its in-house portfolio and assets folded in from the outside. “You always want, as the head of R&D, to have a budget in which you’re spending every penny on things that are valuable, timely and technically advanced contributions to your portfolio,” Wood said. “I’m always in a position when I bring something new in, whether it’s from the outside world or the inside world, that I’m asking it not only to pay for itself but to pay for the opportunity that it displaces in the portfolio.” LTZ could get milestone payments based on hitting preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial goals. If the programs make it all the way to market, royalties on global sales are also on the table. GSK recently snared an antibody-drug conjugate from Syndivia, paying about $357 million for the preclinical-stage prostate cancer therapy. Reynald Castañeda contributed reporting.

London: UK pharma giant GSK has announced the acquisition of a preclinical ADC for advantage stage prostate cancer from French biotech Syndivia for a total payment of 268 million pounds (over $355 million)---including both upfront and milestone components. GSK has inked an exclusive licensing agreement to develop and commercialize a preclinical ADC for mCRPC. The acquired entity is stated to have demonstrated, “enhanced anti-tumor activity and an encouraging safety profile." "Under preclinical studies, the ADC was effective at shrinking tumors without causing a proportional increase in significant side effects, even at higher doses, the company said in a statement. GSK expects the therapy to complement its ADC pipeline anchored by a Chinese buyout GSK’227, a B7H3-targeted ADC currently being investigated over multiple cancer indications including lung, head and neck cancers and other solid tumors across several clinical programs. This ADC could provide a targeted treatment directly to the tumor, currently a gap in available therapies, along with a more easily accessible treatment in the community practice setting for mCRPC, it said. “Prostate cancer represents ….an emerging area of growth for GSK, where targeted therapies are urgently needed in metastatic castration-resistant settings and the addition of this ADC builds on GSK's growing portfolio and strengths in tumor-targeted technologies ,” said Hesham Abdullah, Senior Vice President, Global Head Oncology, R&D, GSK. By Online Bureau ,